The Kite Runner : A Thousand Times Over


Literary cravings of each one of us are too varied: fiction, non-fiction, mystery, romance, preternatural, biographies,tragedy. The book in our hand provides a direct insight to our mood. There are though, quite a few writers who can give you the entire range of all these genres in a single paperback, pages woven together to give you calisthenics of the mind.




Personally, The Kite runner holds the untold stories of Afghans and their requiem.It would have never reached the purview of so many masses had Hosseni not yielded their souls for us to know how every single thread of their existence has been unraveled and torn apart.Almost all of his novels explore the life of people before and after Taliban all the while looking into the social stigma towards women, prejudice towards the minority groups. It has been loved and read widely by people all over. It has also been adapted into a movie with the same name.



The Kite Runner is about the fragile and yet strong bond of friendship between two boys from different levels of society- Amir, the master's son and Hassan, the servant's son. The story is a first person  narrative by Amir. He gives an account of his childhood, most of it containing memories of Hassan. The story unfolds and Amir moves to America during the Soviet war  as well as explaining the estrangement of Hassan . Somehow Amir finds himself in Afghanistan after decades to liberate himself of his crimes of the past. In the entire narrative you will find him plagued by his demons, hiding but realizing his own transgressions.



The book looks into how eventually humans are selfish creatures. Regardless of anything, they will end up saving their own mortality even if it means putting someone else's at risk.
Another truth that hits you while you are reading it is that we all have to face our demons at some point. You can't run, and there is no hiding. Eventually your deeds catch up to you and eventually, you have to be able to look in to your own eyes in the mirror and live with yourself.



The most poignant scene of the book is a kite fight that happens in a winter of Amir's childhood. Hassan is there too , as the kite runner. The kite fight is important for Amir, as he aims to please his father by winning. The entire Afghanistan participates, so it is kind of a big deal. As amir cuts the last kite remaining, Hassan runs towards it, looking behind and shouting the line that brought tears to my eyes and gave me goosebumps,"FOR YOU A THOUSAND TIMES OVER." It is just a single line, but it speaks volumes about Hassan's undying devotion for his agha , Amir. The kind of devotion that is hard to find in this world. The kind of devotion that moves you to the core, brings you to your knees.

For you a thousand times over....
                        a thousand times over...
                                   a thousand time over...




Comments

  1. A Mystic Being23 September 2017 at 13:07

    Such a poignant description of a beautiful book. I am definitely going to read it at the very first opportunity that I get.

    ReplyDelete

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